The Whispers In The Dark
by abc12390s
Summary: A child, with ancient blood running through his veins, is brought to Konoha. Is he destined for great things or will he bring destruction to all that surrounds him?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

It's so quite; you can hear the wind howling as it passes everyone by and the leaves brushing against one another in the trees. Just another day of people carrying out their everyday lives. "Ugh I hate gate duty, it's so boring. I can't remember the last time something interesting happened Kotetsu."  
"Quit your whining Izumo. We get paid doing nothing basically so sit back and shut up. _Though I have to admit it would be nice to see something happen once in a while_." As Kotetsu sighs he hears the sound of hooves clashing against the dirt road heading towards them so he leans over the counter and notices a man on a horse. "Hey...we have a visitor."  
The stranger halts the weary horse a few feet away from the shinobi's post. Once he comes to a complete stop the two shinobi see that the man is carrying what seems to be a child wrapped in rags covered in red stains. The stranger tries to make words but he can't inhale enough air to do so. It appears that his chest has been punctured by a kunai. Izumo leaps out of his post to try and help the stranger.  
"Sir are you alright? What happened to you?"  
"T-there's no time. I...I need you to take my son", the stranger hands over his child to Izumo and turns his horse around.  
"W-wait! What am I suppose to do with him? Sir I don't think this is the best idea maybe we should…", but he's cut off as the man turns his horse in the other direction.  
As he starts to head off he begs them to fulfill his last desire, "I'm sorry to place this burden onto you but if they find him they'll kill him as well. Please keep Sakami safe for me."  
The man then rides his horse through the woods till he is out of the shinobi's sight. Izumo unwraps the covers to take a look at the baby and hands him Kotetsu. "Um here take the kid I'm going to go get Iruka. Maybe he'll know what to do." He then heads to the Ninja Academy, where Iruka teaches the upcoming ninjas. He knocks on Iruka's classroom's door, and signals him to come here. "Iruka…we have sort of a situation."  
"What's the matter Izumo?"  
"Well I think it'll be easier if I just tell you on the way. Come on I have to show you something?  
It doesn't take them to reach gate B but as they got there, there seems to be a small crowd forming around Kotetsu. Iruka asks the people to step away and heads over to speak to him. "So let's see this baby of yours", Iruka says sarcastically to Kotetsu as he lifts up the bloody blanket that's covering the child's face. "So he was brought here by someone riding a horse?"  
"Yeah that's right and the guy seemed pretty beat up too. What do you make out of all this", Kotetsu asks him.  
"Hmm well many villages don't use horses anymore...so I'm guessing he was from an independent village, which makes things complicated since they aren't located on our world map. Here give me the kid I'll take care of him. I'll report this to the Hokage at once."  
Iruka takes the child and hurries to the Administration building and stops to ask one of the assistants if the Hokage isn't too busy. "Uh hey you wouldn't know if the Lord Hokage was too busy or not would you?"  
"Oh he's not too busy so you can go right in Iruka", the assistant tells him with a smile on her face. He thanks her and heads into the Hokage's office.  
"Sorry to interrupt you Lord Hokage but I have something for you."  
"Oh don't worry Iruka, I was getting tired of doing paperwork anyways. So what is it?"  
"Well there seems that Konoha had a visitor today and dropped this off." Iruka leans over the Hokage's desk and hands him the child.  
"Oh! It's a baby? Haha well isn't he the cutest thing. So tell me how…" Before he can finish his sentence thought Anko comes running through the door with urgent news.  
"Sir we have another mission from the Grass...oh am I interrupting?" She walks over beside the Hokage and takes a look at the child as well. "Aw look at the little cutie. My he has some bright blue eyes. They're kind of mesmerizing. Oh but anyways Lord Hokage there seems to be an attack just...", but the Hokage stops her and focuses his attention back on Iruka.  
"I'm sorry but we'll have to talk another time Iruka. Take the boy to the orphanage, he'll stay there until we get any more information on who exactly dropped him off and his whereabouts."  
"Yes Hokage, right away."

As seasons come and go throughout the years the abandoned child grows up in the Leaf Village, alone and fending for himself. He let his black hair grow down to his shoulders and spike it to the side. His eyes are a pale, crystal blue and his skin is almost porcelain, you could say; people are drawn in by his looks but his mysteriousness push them away, making him alone. Occasionally Iruka drops in to see how he's doing and treats him to dinner to try and lift his sprit. On his tenth birthday he decided to make some decisions of his own and enrolling in the Ninja Academy where he trains under Iruka for the next two years.  
The alarm goes off and Sakami groans while pushing the snooze button for the second time. He just lies there and stares at the ceiling…thinking. He gets out of bed to open the blinds and the sun lights up the room, blinding him for a moment. "Ugh…another day", he mumbles to himself. He jumps in and out of the shower, gets dressed, and heads out to the academy. He takes his time as he walks there so he can just take in everything around him. Just as the bell is about to ring he walks into the room and takes his seat in the corner. He shares the same classroom as Sasuke Uchiha, the natural, born genius and a few others, whose skill is above the other students. As they all sit down Iruka walks through the door and makes an announcement.  
"Alright class settle down, settle down. As you all know, to become a genin you have to know all the basics about being a ninja. So I thought why not make our last days together a little fun. I assume many of you know about the chuunin exams and if not, does anyone care to explain to the class what it is?" Out of all the students in the classroom Sakura was the only one to raise her hand and give the answer.  
"The chuunin exam is when genin are put against each other to see who is at the top of their rank and to go from a genin level to a chuunin level." Feeling accomplished she sits back with a big smile and looks at Sasuke to see if he acknowledged her existence.  
"Very good Sakura. That's exactly what it is. So I thought why not have our own little tournament and use everything you learned to see who are top students are. I wrote all of your names on a piece of paper and put it in this box. I'll pull out two names and those two will put against each other. Since we're short on time though I don't think we'll get further than one round so let's get started, shall we?"  
One match after the other, Sakami analyzes his peer's movements and remembers their fighting style. After Chouji and Kiba are finished fighting Iruka pulls out two more names. "Alright up next is…Sakami and…Akuma. Come on down you two." Akuma is twice the size of Sakami and was somewhat full of himself.  
"So why do I have to fight the pip-squeak? Iruka-sensei you basically gave me the win for this match. You're going down runt." After Akuma's fail attempts to intimidate Sakami he gets in his fighting stance but Sakami just stands there, glaring at his opponent.  
"Um Sakami you have to get in your fighting stance so I can start the match", Iruka tells him. Sakami just glances over at him and Iruka can tell by the look in his eyes that he's ready. "Well ok...ready…fight!"  
Once those words leave Iruka's mouth Akuma charges at Sakami, ready to make the first punch but his movements are too slow and predictable, allowing Sakami to counter-attack. He grabs his wrist, and pulls him in so Akuma's stomach makes contact with Sakami's knee. Spitting up and unable to move Akuma is helpless at the moment. Sakami then whispers in his ear "too slow…pip-squeak", and throws him against the wall. Still able to continue to fight Akuma gets right back up and starts to scream and charges again. Sakami jumps out of the way, elbows him in the chest, jumps into the air and kicks him straight in the jaw sending him flying into the wall again.  
Akuma can barely stand to his feet but with the little energy he has he decides to use it for talk. "Ugh…damn it how did you manage to hit me like that? You're freak'n weird, you know that? No wonder no one wanted you!" At that moment Sakami's fists start to glow a bluish color and so did his eyes. He runs over, grabs Akuma by his shirt collar and strikes his face with his fist several times until Iruka has to pull Sakami off of him.  
"Sakami that's enough! This was supposed to be a friendly brawl not a death match." Sakami just stares at the floor then apologizes, not really knowing what he has done.  
"I'm...sorry Iruka-sensei. It won't happen again, I promise."  
"I certainly hope not. I'm kind of curious though of where you learned chakra control. I didn't teach you guys that."  
"Um…chakra control?"  
"You were storing chakra in your fists making your punches even more effective."  
"I didn't try it though. I guess it just happened on its own. Um is that a good or bad thing?" Iruka puts his hand on Sakami's shoulder and tells him not worry about it then dismisses the rest of the class.

The moon and the lamp posts are the only source of light for Sakami as he makes his way to Ichiraku Ramen to grab a bite to eat. He pulls the curtain to the side and takes a seat in the little shop. Leaning over the table, he ponders on what to order. Mr. Teuchi notices that he has a customer so he comes up and asks him what he would like to have. "Hey there. So what can I get you for today, maybe our special?"  
"Nah I'm alright. I'll just have a bowl of ramen please."  
"One bowl of ramen coming right up." Mr. Teuchi heads into the back to help Ayame prepare the meal. Out of Sakami's peripheral vision he sees another guest come into the shop and sit down beside him. Sakami tries not to make eye contact and keeps his head lowered.  
"Yo Mr. Teuchi! Can I get the special today?", Naruto yells back to him. He then looks to his left and sees his classmate, Sakami. "Hmm...oh hey Sakami! I didn't know you liked Ichiraku Ramen."  
"Haha yeah I love coming here. This place helps me gets my mind off of everything. Um...not to be rude but...you're Uzumaki Naruto right?  
"Oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself but yep that's me!" As the two of them talk Mr. Teuchi comes out with two bowls of ramen noodles and places them in front of the two kids.  
"Here you go fellows. I hope you like today's special Naruto. I added a few new ingredients." The two of them give the owner of the shop a smile and shove the food in their mouths. Naruto tries to say something but the noodles in his mouth make it difficult to understand.  
"Um...come again?", Sakami asks him. Naruto then swallows the noodles and chugs his glass of herbal tea.  
"Gah haha I said you were amazing today in class. I didn't know you were that good. After class everyone picked on Akuma cause he couldn't even touch you."  
"Oh haha thanks. It was nothing really he was only easy because he's big and stupid though. Besides I don't have anything to do when I go home so I just train on my free time."  
"Well you sure surprised me… he did deserve it though. He shouldn't have said that stuff about you." Naruto puts down his chopsticks and just stares at his bowl for a little while with a blank expression on his face.  
"Oh don't worry about it, really. I'm use to it anyways so it doesn't faze me that much."  
"Yeah…it's just I know how you feel because most people in Konoha hate me and treat me the same way. My whole life I grew up alone…but after going to the ninja academy I met some people who I can form bonds with, like Iruka-sensei."  
"Oh…well I'll be your friend too Naruto. I don't really have anyone else and you're the first person to actually like, talk to me.", Sakami tells him as they both trade smiles with each other. "But hey it's getting late so I'll see you tomorrow...okay?"  
"Haha you betcha!" The two of them slurp down the rest of their ramen and wave each other goodbye as they both head back home.  
It doesn't take Sakami long to get back to his apartment, once he does he grabs the doorknob and just chuckles to himself. "Ha Uzumaki Naruto…what a guy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

Weeks pass by and the last day at the ninja academy has finally arrived. Everyone enters the classroom, anticipating who they will be teamed up with. As Iruka walks in the door he brings in a large folder with him. "Okay as you all know today's your last day here at the ninja academy and the day where you will be teamed up with your fellow classmates." Iruka then opens the files and reads off them. "So let's begin…Team 7's leader is Kakashi Hatake and includes Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Team 8's leader is Kurenai Yuuhi and consists of Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. Team 9's leader is Asuma Sarutobi and includes Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. The last team of the bunch is Team 11 and the leader is Toriichi Kumade and it will consist Ami, Fuki, and Sakami. If you guys aren't happy with who you're with don't complain to me take it up with the Hokage himself since he's the one who assigned you all to each other. You're senseis are waiting out front. Dismiss."  
Everyone gets up and starts to walk out but Iruka was signaling team 11 to come over. Ami starts to complain since she is a little impatient "So what is it Iruka-sensei?", she asks as she starts to pout and Sakami and Fuki give her a confused look.  
"Well I have some bad news, you guys won't be seeing your sensei today like everyone else. It seems that he's on a mission in the Hidden Mist at the moment. So you guys can take this time to get to know each other or whatever you kids do now a days." The three of them leave the academy and Ami runs up to Sakami's side.  
"So what's up with you?", she asks him in a blunt manner. Ami isn't very popular with the other girls since she is sort of the bully.  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
"You never talk to anyone. Are you shy or something because if you are you don't have to be around me? I can be the nicest person you know." In the background you could hear Fuki chuckle a little bit and Ami turns around and hits his head. "What the hell are you laughing at, hmm Fuki?" She turns back around and looks at Sakami waiting for an answer.  
"Haha…well um I don't know. I just never bothered to get to know anyone I guess. I was alone my whole life so I figured why start now?" Ami looks at him with sadness in her eyes and lowers her head. Fuki walks over and puts his hand on Sakami's shoulder and gives him a reassuring look.  
"Don't worry bro we're here for you now so you really won't be alone anymore." Sakami smirks a bit and holds his head up high. They keep walking through town until Ami burst out being hungry.  
"Hey why don't we go get a bite? I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving." Fuki nods his head and starts to walk a little further than the rest of the group but Sakami shrugs his shoulders of the idea.  
"Nah you two go ahead without me. I have something to do anyways."  
"You're lying you don't have to do anything!" Ami walks up to him, their faces only inches apart, and her eyes glared right into his.  
"…So what if I am. It doesn't change anything, now does it? I'll catch you guys later okay?" He breaks eye contact with her, turns around, and walks in a different direction. Fuki laughs in the background while Ami just folds her arms and pouts.  
As Fuki and Ami head out to eat Sakami takes a short walk through town and ends up in the training grounds. He pulls out one of his shuriken and tosses it up in the air then catches it over and over again while walking. He walks pass one of the training dummies and continues on his way till he's about thirteen meters away from it. He grasps the shuriken tightly in his hand then launches it at the dummy, penetrating its left shoulder. "Hmpf. I missed.", he says to himself.  
"Ha what are you talking about you hit it didn't you?" Sakami quickly turns around to see Naruto looming over his shoulder.  
"Well yeah technically…but it wasn't a fatal hit so in the end I missed."  
"You don't always have to kill your enemy to succeed in a mission Sakami. Sometimes you have to bring your opponent back alive."  
"Hm yeah you're right I guess. So what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with you group?" Naruto uses that big smile of his and scratches his head.  
"Training's over for the day but I thought I could use the extra practice if I'm ever going to be Hokage someday."  
"Oh really? To me, obtaining the title of Hokage is just a job. It doesn't mean you're the strongest because there is always someone stronger than you. Besides being the Hokage has too many responsibilities and duties." With a blank stare Naruto just stands there for a moment and gives him a thumbs up.  
"Well think what you want to think but I'm going to be Hokage not only because I'm going to be the strongest in the village but because I'm going to be the strongest shinobi ever. Believe it!"  
"Haha we'll see about that Naruto. So how about this, you and me, one on one let's see who's the stronger right now."  
"Oh? Ha you're on! Get ready to lose Sakami!" As Naruto jumps back and gets in his fighting stance someone behind him calls his name, one of his teammates, Uchiha Sasuke.  
"Hold on Naruto.", he tells him as he puts his hand on his shoulder.  
"Huh? Why should I? What are you doing here anyways, Sasuke?"  
"You're not the only one who trains stupid. Besides I want to face Sakami. Face it Naruto we're out of your league anyways." Naruto starts flipping out and screams but Sakami tries to calm him down.  
"Naruto it's no big deal really. This is better actually because you'll get to see what you'll be up against, next time we decide to fight. Don't worry this won't take long either." He smirks at Naruto then pulls out a kunai and throws it in the air. "Once the kunai hits the ground the match begins, Uchiha Sasuke."  
They stand still, anticipating each other's reaction as the wind blows through their clothes and hair. Then as soon as the kunai nips a blade of grass the two jump back. Sakami launches a kunai with an explosive tag on it. Sasuke throws a shuriken to deflect it but once he did the kunai explodes creating a cloud of smoke. He looks to the left then to the right and then behind until the only place to left is up. Sasuke sees Sakami trying to axe kick him but blocks in time. After blocking, Sasuke grabs his legs, swings him and throws him across the field. He then runs towards Sakami's sliding body, jumps in the air and punches him right in the stomach making Sakami spit up. Sakami quickly recovers from the blow and grabs Sasuke's wrist, pulls him in, and head butts him.  
He takes this opportunity and punches Sasuke in Jaw, crouches down and elbows him in the stomach, then kicks him into the air. As he jumps in the air to strike again Sasuke uses his Housenka no Jutsu (Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique). Since there was no way of dodging it Sakami takes the blast straight on slamming him back to the ground. Sasuke takes out an explosive kunai and throws it where Sakami is laying. Once it explodes he drops to the ground and walks over to the hole where Sakami is lying but when he leans over to his surprise Sakami isn't there. He searches the area but he's nowhere to be found then he feels a vibration beneath his feet and jumps back quickly. Sakami bursts out of the ground trying to strike Sasuke with his hand but misses.  
The two of them stand about 15 meters apart staring the other down. Sasuke's activates his sharingan and Sakami's hands glow bright blue and so did his eyes. "You fight just like me, you use ever opportunity to get a hit in. I think it's time that we start being serious now Sakami.", Sasuke tells him while wiping the blood under his mouth.  
"Agreed. We end this now." Sakami charges full force at him and throws two shurikens as well. Sasuke pulls out his kunai and deflects them both and charges at Sakami. He lunges forward and tries to strike Sakami with his kunai but Sakami counter attacks by grabbing onto his wrist and pulling him into to punch his jaw. After being stuck Sasuke reacts by spinning his body around and kicking him in the face, sending Sakami flying into the air. He jumps in the air and gets above Sakami. He tries to punch him but Sakami gets a hold of his arm and whips him to the ground. As soon as Sasuke makes impact to the ground Sakami slams his fist into Sasuke's stomach, leaving him almost unconscious. With the little bit of the energy he has Sasuke uses Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique) right before Sakami can make a second attack.  
Sasuke, lying in ruble, can't move a single muscle in his body and Sakami, cringing in pain from the burns, tries to push himself up with all of his strength but fails and falls to the ground. Sakami looks at Sasuke and reaches out but his arm falls as he passes out.

Sakami opens his eyes half way and notices that he's in a room. He raises his body but falls straight back down in pain. He comes to a realization that he's in the hospital. To his left is Ami, resting her head on her arms. "Ami?" She hears his soft voice and looks at him.  
"Sakami…you're awake." She rubs her eyes and stands up with an upset expression on her face. "You know what? I thought you had brains but I was wrong. You're probably the dumbest kid I've ever met Sakami. The first day we're assigned to a group and you almost get yourself killed by going up against Sasuke Uchiha!"  
"Ha! I'm alive aren't I? Don't worry so much." He lays his head back with a smirk on his face. "So what's the damage anyways?"  
"You'll live. You just have a few minor burns here and there and you have bruises everywhere."  
"Well that's good I guess…why the long face though?" He raises her chin with his weak hand and stares into her eyes.  
"Well…we don't have a sensei Sakami."  
"Huh? He still hasn't come back yet?"  
"No that's not what I mean. Yesterday me and Fuki were called to the Administration Building to speak with the Hokage. He told us that a guy named Zabuza Momochi killed Toriichi-sensei during his mission."  
"What! Well what do we do now? Who's going to be our sensei?"  
"That's the thing…the Hokage said that at the moment the village is short on shinobi that are willing to be assigned to groups. He told us that until the village has shinobi to spare we can't be assigned to any missions and given a new sensei." Sakami clenches his fists and glares down at his blankets.  
"This is total bull…"  
"It doesn't bother me and Fuki. We were never good shinobi to begin with and I want to help my parents with the family business anyways. We were worried about you though since you're one of the village's top genin. You have potential to make something out of yourself someday Sakami…I'm sorry." She takes one last look at him then gets up and leaves the room. He lies there for a while and thinks to himself.  
"If I just sit here and wait Sasuke and Naruto are sure to surpass me…I have to do something about this." Despite his injuries he jumps out of bed and leans over in pain, it doesn't stop him though. He walks through the halls, with his arm supporting his body against the wall. Only a few feet away from the exit one of the hospital nurses runs over and takes his hand.  
"Sir what do you think you're doing? You're in no shape to be out of bed. I'm taking you back right now!" She starts to pull him but he whips his hand, releasing her grip on him. "Sir!"  
"Get your hands off of me! I'll do whatever the hell I want to my body so get back!" She orders him to come back but he ignores her and keeps walking. He picks up the pace but doing so, his body aches even more.

With everyone's eyes on him Sakami passes through the streets and makes it to the Administration Building. He walks straight in and heads up the stairs to the Hokage's quarters and barges in. In the room he sees the Hokage sitting down looking at what seems to be the newspaper. "You will never be a great shinobi if you create a scene everywhere you go like you do. Where's the element of surprise", the Lord Hokage tells him as he puts down his paper.  
"Oh uh sorry about that…but I was informed today that I can't go on any missions without a team captain. Am I correct?"  
"Mmm so you're one of team 11's members…yes that's right."  
"So I can't even do D-ranked missions?"  
"You can do whatever you want. It just won't be recorded in your profile is all."  
"Come on! That's not fair! It's not my fault that a man died on the battle field!"  
"You say it as if it doesn't faze you?"  
"Well that's because it doesn't actually. I never met the guy so why should I care if he lives or dies."  
"Tell me…what is important to you?", the Hokage asks him as he puts his hands together and stares directly into Sakami's eyes.  
"My goal may be simplistic but I wish to surpass everyone in this village. I want people to remember a 100 years from now. I want my name to be everywhere."  
"So you wish to be Hokage? Do you know how many shinobi have that dream?"  
"Being Hokage…is not my dream. I don't wish to have your responsibilities I just want the title of being the strongest shinobi and the only way I can do that is if someone can help guide me on the right path."  
"So what you're asking from me…is to find you a sensei?"  
"Yes." The two lock eyes for a moment and the Hokage takes a deep sigh.  
"Hmm well at the moment there are no jounin that can take that role…but there is one person who can help you though." A look of relief appears on Sakami's face and the Hokage smiles at him.  
"So who do you have in mind?"  
"You'll find out soon enough. Tomorrow you will show up at the training grounds no later than…4 a.m. is that understood?"  
"4 o'clock in the mo…" The Hokage cuts him off before he can finish complaining.  
"Is that understood? This doesn't happen often so I would take this and be happy."  
"Oh uh yes understood Lord Hokage, four sharp." He bows to show his appreciation then heads out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

It doesn't hit him till Sakami's back in his apartment that he's in no shape to walk around town let alone train. He stumbles to his bed then falls back on it with a sigh of comfort. Before he can settle in though he hears a knock on his door. "_You have to be kidding me._ The door's unlocked!"

He lies on his side and looks over his shoulder to see who it is.

"Hey there. Heard you left the hospital early." Naruto walks in with a relaxed look on his face then pulls up a chair and sits on it backwards.

"Oh yeah I had to take care of some business. So didja hear what happened to my group?"

"Yeah Ami told everyone of course…everyone was talking about. So I hear you can't go on anymore missions…I'm sorry about that Sakami."

"So that's what you heard…well you heard wrong."

"What?"

"Haha I pulled some strings with the Hokage. He found me someone to train me so I can go on missions. Ha don't think I'm out of the race yet. I plan on surpassing everyone in this village and that definitely includes you." Naruto shakes his head a little and laughs as he gets up and heads towards the door.

"You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better that you got your butt whooped by Sasuke."

"What are you talking about? That was an even match!"

"Yeah when you two were fighting maybe…but Sasuke wasn't sent to the hospital like you. He walked it off and trained the very next day."

"_Damn it! _Ha whatever, give me a little time and I'll be sending him to the hospital without a scratch on me."

"Ha come get me the day that happens alright? I'll let you go though okay? See ya tomorrow bro."

"Yeah yeah see ya tomorrow Naruto." He gives a little wave as Naruto closes the door on his way out. Sakami lies on his back and reaches for his alarm clock. He sets it for 3:30 a.m., which gives him eight hours of shuteye.

He closes his eyes for what seems like not even thirty minutes and the alarm is going off in his ear. "It can't be 3:30 already?" He leans to his side, grabs the alarm clock, and pulls it to his face. He squints to see the time and surely it was right. The clock skids across the wood floor as he tosses it from his sight. He gets into the shower and lets the water run over him for a few minutes then gets out. After he gets dressed he heads out towards the training grounds with a few minutes to spare. He's standing right in the open and waits for anyone to show up, then he sees a moving shadow behind him so he turns around to see what it is. To his surprise it's the Third Hokage.

"I didn't think you would show with the condition you're in and you're early on top of that."

"I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass me by. So who's this new sensei of mine that you told me about?"

"You're looking at him kid."

"You!? Why would you want to train a genin? Besides don't you have piles of work to do since you're the Hokage?"

"You have determination kid, you remind me of myself when I was younger, that's why. And do you see any paperwork in my hands? No, this is the only time I'm actually free from my duty. So if you're willing to cooperate I'm willing to train you. Deal?

"Haha deal! Ugh…" Sakami tries to give him thumbs up but the burns on his arms make him cringe in pain.

"Hmm you're injured. Are you sure you can train?"

"I-it's nothing just a few burns from Uchiha. Don't worry it won't slow me down."

"No it will, come here." Sakami looks discourage as if the third won't train him but when he walks over towards him the third puts his hand on his chest. Green chakra disperses from the third's hands and Sakami is in shock as he sees his wounds start to disappear.

"What the…what'd you just do?"

"It's medical jutsu. I sped up your body's progress to heal by a 100 fold."

"Can you teach me it? It'll come in handy I know that."

"It takes excellent chakra control to learn medical jutsu. Here's the thing though I'm only going to train you until you pass the chuunin exam. After that you won't need anyone to accompany you on your missions. Since the chuunin is only a few months away you only have so much time to train. So what do you want to start with?"

Sakami starts to remember how he fought Akuma, how his fists lit up with chakra. The same thing happened when he fought Sasuke. "I want to learn chakra control. I remember Iruka-sensei asking me how I know how to use it but I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I realized that whenever I feel enraged or intimidated my chakra starts to pour out on its own. I want to learn how to control it so I can use it whenever I want."

"Hm I see…well I'll have to teach you the basics before we can go into anything specific."

"Sounds good, just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it." The third points to the tree that's behind him.

"I want you to reach the top of the tree without using your hands."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

"Without jumping from branch to branch too."

"Oh…so how do you expect me to do it then?" The third turns to the tree and places one foot on the trunk, then takes his other foot and plants right above the other one. He was standing perpendicular to the tree.

"How…are you doing that?"

"It's simple when you got chakra control down. You concentrate your chakra in a specific location, for me, my feet. If you apply too much chakra you'll push yourself away from what you're touching. Too little and you'll simply fall off so you have to have just the right amount. Try it." Sakami puts his hands together and concentrates for a few seconds. He feels his chakra flow through down his body and to his feet and at that moment he runs to the tree and both feet are against the trunk. He runs up the tree with a steady pace but half way up the tree he starts to slow down. He flips backwards and lands on the ground.

"Damn it! I didn't make it. _This is going to be a lot harder than I thought._"

"Ha don't talk like that. You sure impressed me; even natural born geniuses have trouble with chakra control. For some people it comes naturally and for others well they have to work for it."

"Let me give it one more shot." He channels his chakra to his feet again and runs up the tree but only surpassing his previous attempt by a few inches.

"Haha well it seems you found something to work on. I'll leave you be to train. I'll be back the same time tomorrow."

"Wait so you're just going to leave me here?"

"Well there's no point in watching you progress for hours on end. Don't worry I'll be back tomorrow and by then you should have chakra control down."

The Third heads back to the Administration Building while Sakami keeps trying to get to the top of the tree. Hours soon pass, morning has come, and Sakami is resting under the tree's shade.

"Sleeping on the job I see", Naruto laughs as he walks towards Sakami.

"W-what? Oh…haha nah it's just this is the only time I can get some rest."

"Here I got you something, thought you might be hungry." Naruto hands him a cup of ramen noodles and sits beside him. "So what are you doing here anyways?"

"Haha thanks Naruto. Um well right now I'm trying to learn chakra control. I almost mastered it."

"Chakra control? What's that?"

"Well I know explaining stuff to you is pretty much impossible…but I don't have the energy at the moment to show you."

"Hmpf. Fine whatever."

"I'll show you when I have the strength and I might even teach it to you. So anyways any top secret missions you wanna talk about haha."

"Ugh no! Kakashi-sensei and the old man have me doing errands for people. Oh I did learn a new jutsu though!"

"Really? What is it, more Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) haha?"

"Shut up! No it's something no one else can do. Here I'll show you." He puts down his cup of ramen and stands a few meters away from Sakami. As he makes a hand seal he yells Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and several clones of him appear.

"What's the big deal? It's just Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique). We learned that at the academy Naruto."

"That's where you're wrong. These clones aren't just illusions, they're real."

"Oh…I see. We didn't learn anything like that at the academy…I heard of this though. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is a jounin level jutsu so how'd you learn it?"

"Well Mizuki-sensei told me that if I learned one jutsu out of the Scroll of Seals he would pass me for the genin test. So I sorta…took the scroll without permission hehe."

"Scroll of Seals eh? Where'd you get that?"

"It has a bunch of jutsu in it but I only learned the first on the list. Don't bother trying to get it though. I didn't know that only the Hokage, himself is allowed to look at it. He probably has it locked away somewhere."

"Hmm I see. _Jutsu that only the Hokage is allowed to know…I'll have to bring this up next time I see the old man. _But hey Naruto I better get back to resting. I got a lot of training to do tonight. Thanks for the ramen."

"Oh yeah no problem Sakami. Next time though it'll be on you haha. I have to get going anyways, Kakashi wants us to meet up soon so I'll catch you later."

Sakami puts his hands behind his head and lies back down. He stares at the sky, watching the clouds pass him by then soon falls to sleep. Around 4 in the morning the Third comes back to check on Sakami but he's nowhere to be found. "It's not like him to skip a training session…where is he?" He scouts the area but there's still no sign of him but as soon as he's about to head back he hears the sound of something shattering in the background. He follows the sound and finds Sakami standing next to a giant bolder, his knuckles covered in blood. "What are you doing? I thought you…" Before the Third could even finish his sentence he takes a good look at the boulder and sees it's face cracked and shattered in many areas.

"I think I finally understand chakra control now. I mean I didn't master it but I understand how to use it to my advantage."

"So tell me…how'd you use it to be able to create craters in this boulder."

"Remember when you said if you use too much chakra you'll push yourself away from the object your touching. Well if you time it just right and release a large amount of chakra at once the impact force will increase dramatically."

"I have to admit I'm amazed you went this far with it and I'm even more amazed that you're doing it the right way. Most shinobi don't even know that chakra control can be used like this. Let me show you what will happen after you master chakra control." The Third stands about a foot away from the large boulder and his right hand starts to glow with chakra. He pulls back his arm and at full force he punches the boulder shattering it till it's nothing but ruble.

"A-amazing…"

"And there you have it…chakra control. The damage will differ between person to person though since each shinobi has different levels of chakra. The more chakra you have the greater the damage will be."

"Is there a way to know how much chakra I have?"

"Not necessarily, you just have to know your limits."

"Hmm…I see. Well is there a way to know what element I can manipulate?"

"You know about element manipulation already? They teach that at the academy now…things really changed since I was your age."

"I may be a genin but don't underestimate me, I do my homework."

"Hmpf…well you would of figured out on your own eventually but it's better to know sooner than later I guess. It's a good thing I decided to bring these." He reaches for his back pocket and pulls out a few slips of what's appears to be ordinary paper.

"Paper?"

"Not just any paper, this paper came from a tree grown from chakra. You see when the slightest bit of chakra passes through these little slips of paper one in five things will happen. If you're a Katon (fire) elemental user it will burn, Suiton (water) will get it wet, Raiton (lighting) will crumble it, Doton (earth) will turn it to dust, and Fuuton (wind) will tear it in half. So here let's see what chakra type you are." He hands him one of the pieces of paper and Sakami transfers his chakra into the paper but nothing happens.

"Why isn't it working? I know I'm doing it right." He gives the dud back and the Third hands him a new piece.

"That's strange… here take this one instead." Again, nothing happens when Sakami transfers his chakra into the slip of paper.

"…Nothing?"

"Here give me the piece of paper." Sakami gives the paper back to him and the Third transfers his chakra into the paper. Doing so the paper turns to dust and their faces turn blank. "There's…nothing wrong with the paper it seems."

"So…what does this mean exactly?"

"It means…you can't control any elements. That doesn't make sense though since everyone is given an element at birth unless…the Aoiki Clan maybe." It's hard to hear the last part but Sakami was able to catch the word Aoiki that slipped out of the Third's mouth.

"Aoiki?"

"_The only ones who weren't given an element at birth were decedents of the Legendary Aoiki Clan…but they died out centuries ago. No that couldn't be it…maybe it's just a genetic deformity. _Forget what I just said, my best bet is that it's your genetic code that's messed up and somehow you're just missing the gene to manipulate elements."

"Genetic…so I can't…do element manipulation? Which means I can't do basic jutsu…is that what you're telling me? Haha well this is just freak'n fantastic…" Sakami turns his back on the Third and starts to walk away; tears almost form in his eyes as he whispers to himself. "It's not fair. It's just not fair..." The Third walks behind him and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Do you know what a man does to overcome a disability?" Sakami looks over his shoulder and the two lock eyes, Sakami's full of disappointment, the Third's filled with confidence. "He enhances all of his other skills to make up for the loss of that one. For example, look at Rock Lee. The boy isn't able to do ninjutsu or genjutsu so he focused all his time and energy on taijutsu. Now, Lee doesn't need those other jutsus."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Well you have two things going for you; chakra control and taijutsu. Combine the two and you have something that can cause destruction on a massive scale. Master that and you'll have something no one else can duplicate, your own technique." Sakami takes the Third's words and turns them into motivation.

"Let's get training then, we're burning moonlight old man."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

"The first thing you have to know is how to mold chakra."  
"Mold...chakra?"  
"Mhmm. Molding chakra is the ability to shape your chakra's appearance and give it a physical form." The Third pulls out one of his kunai from his pouch and demonstrates for Sakami. "Watch as the blade of my kunai extends." Sakami watches as chakra extends out of the blade, making it seem as if it's longer. "When I mold my chakra into the shape of this blade I can make my kunai longer, sharper, wider, anything I want it to be."  
"So can you show me the difference between a regular kunai and a chakra enhanced kunai?"  
"Ha I was getting there, calm down." The Third pulls out another kunai and throws it at a tree, penetrating it, and almost coming out the other end. He then throws the chakra enhanced kunai and throws it at the same tree. The blade passes in and out the tree and two others until it is stopped by a boulder, which is also heavily damaged by the kunai.  
"A-amazing..."  
"As you can see molding chakra can be a huge advantage when it comes to ninjutsu and taijutsu, which is why I'm going to help you master it." He tosses Sakami one of his left over kunai to practice with.  
"So where do I begin?" Sakami holds the blade with both his hand in front of him trying to think of a way to mold his chakra into it.  
"The same way you created those craters is the same way you mold chakra basically. First you want to concentrate your chakra into a certain region, for this exercise your kunai. Sakami concentrates so that the flow of his chakra would flow into the kunai. The blade lights up with blue chakra but doesn't take the same shape or form as the Third's. "Good, that's the first step. Now imagine your chakra forming into a blade, concentrate hard on this thought." His chakra starts to mold into the shape of a blade but the edges are still kind of rough and not as sharp. "Very impressive. Not many shinobi are able to mold chakra yet your progress makes it seem like you've been practicing for weeks now.  
"I'm getting there old man! Just give me a day or few and I'll have this technique mastered."  
"Well lucky for you I'm going to have to give you a week off of training. It seems we've been getting a lot of requests from the River Village lately which is giving me a lot of paper work to fill out. We'll resume your training once I tend to these matters, alright?"  
"You're leaving me already? Can't you just stay for a little bit longer?"  
"Oh? Well I suppose it won't hurt if I monitor your progress for a little bit longer...sure why not." Sakami's face lights up with joy and the Third just smiles back as he sits down on the grass and watches as his student trains.  
An hour passes and Sakami is already passed out laying in the grass with his kunai in his hand. The Third hovers over the child and chuckles a little as he pulls out a slip of paper and starts to write. He finishes the note and lays the on top of Sakami's chest and then heads back to the administration building. Only a few feet into the building and he's already smothered with paper work from his secretary. "Lord Hokage, where have you been? We need you to sign the mutual agreement between us and the Rive Village and we have missions that need to be approved of."  
"Sorry, sorry I was with one of my students. I'll get right on it." He's given a handful of documents as he and the secretary walk into his office. He pulls out his chair and falls back as she just stares at him, a little puzzled.  
"Student? I don't remember you having a pupil? Who is he, the Uchiha child or that genius from the Hyuuga clan?"  
"No, not those two...uhm can you get me any scrolls that have any information about the Aoiki Clan?" The secretary nods her head and opens up a chest filled with dusty, old scrolls. She digs through the chest until she finally finds a scroll that is based about mythology and ancient clans.  
"Here you go Lord Hokage...anything else I can do for you?"  
"Nope that will be all for now, thank you." She turns around and walks out the door while the Third opens up the scroll and skims through the writing.  
_  
The Aoiki Clan...it is said that they are the foundation of chakra itself. The people of the Aoiki Clan were born with a power that made all man fear and worship them, chakra molding. When their village leader fell in love with a mortal man and bared a child that was when the Aoikis were separated into halves, true bloods and half-lings. When the half-lings were created a genetic flaw allowed them to possess the ability to control chakra and a power that the Aoiki Clan didn't. They were able to manipulate their surrounding, elemental manipulation and ninjutsu. As centuries went by the half-lings grew apart and formed independent ninja clans while the Aoiki Clan dwindled down. Some say a disease broke loose through their tribe and others say that after the half-lings came they just stopped breeding. The once great Aoiki Clan which ruled all was now striving to stay alive. It wasn't long until they were defeated by the Senju Clan and wiped out of existence..._

The third seals up the scroll and places it back into the chest then sits back down in his chair. "This would all make sense if the Aoiki Clan was still around. Not once have I ever heard of or seen someone who didn't possess a chakra element...maybe it is just a genetic flaw."  
Back at the training grounds Sakami is laying on his back watching the clouds pass him by. "What are you doing down there?" Sakami tilts his head back to see Sasuke with his arms crossed and a few scratches on him.  
"I'm relaxing...I've been training so much that I don't have any time to just...think." He focuses his attention back on the clouds and tries to get lost in thought while Sasuke sits next him.  
"Hmm...well me, Naruto, and what's her face Sakura were planning on eating out at Ichiraku Ramen then head back here to train. If you want you can come with us." With a smirk on his face Sakami stares at Sasuke for little bit.  
"Is the great Uchiha survivor asking me to hang out? I-I-I feel honored. I can't believe this is happening."  
"Haha shut up loser, you don't have to if you don't want to."  
"Hehe well...to be honest I'd love to but I only have a week left to master this new technique I'm learning...so how about some other time?" Sasuke gets up and starts to head out but then turns around.  
"Hmpf...whenever you're ready to get your ass handed to you again you know where I am right?"  
"Oh ha ha. Next time you won't even be able to touch me. Later." As Sasuke waves and keeps walking Sakami gets up, brushes himself off, and resumes his training.

Thirty seconds left, twenty-seven meters away and closing in. Jumping from branch to branch he plants his left foot on the trunk of a tree and throws his kunai. Passing through branches and trunks it hits the target straight in the center, with the help of chakra molding. Twenty-one seconds left, thirty-nine meters away from his last two targets, with only a shuriken in his pouch. His hearts pounding faster and faster, the thought of failing was unacceptable to him, then finally with seven seconds left his targets stand right in front of him. He throws his last shuriken, curving the direction it's going in, making it hit the center of each one. Three days pass and Sakami has mastered chakra molding. "Round two."  
Five targets pop up and surround him but when he reaches into his pouch he finds nothing. With only eleven seconds left he runs toward his first target, jumps a few feet into the air, and kicks his target right in the chest. Pushing off of the first target he jumps towards the next one. Twisting his body in the air he brings his leg down, slamming it into the shoulder of the target. Three, two, one; before he can even make it to his next target time runs out. The remaining dummies then react to his failure and launch kunai at him. One is to his right and the other two are behind him. He leaps into the air and with his back facing the ground, he dodges all three at once. He lands on his feet with one hand resting upon the ground then takes a deep breath. "_Ugh...shit. I really need to work on my hand to hand combat. Chakra molding isn't going to help me if I keep running out of weapons. I need to think of something new to use. Hmm what if...yeah maybe that will work._"  
He extends his hands out and forces his chakra's flow to travel through his arms. As his arms start to glow he molds the chakra just as he did for the kunai and shuriken. "_Let's see if this works._ Round two." Five more targets circle around him and the countdown starts, eleven. Dashing towards the dummy in front of him he crouches down and swings his arm diagonally, cutting it in half. Nine; as his arm swings upward he pushes himself into the air with his right foot then comes back down slicing the second target's head off. Seven; his feet make contact with the ground and he swings his body around, making his arm cut everything off from the shoulders up on the third dummy. Five; the last two targets stand in front of him and he has little time to spare. He leaps into the air, extends his arms out, and spins his body in a circular motion. He lands on both feet and takes the two targets with him, with time to spare; three, two, one. "Hahaha I think I just founded my own fighting style. Round three!"

With the last sip of tea gone and all the documents signed the Third Hokage leans back on his chair and relaxes for a bit. "Gah, finally! I have some time to rest...but it feels like I'm forgetting...ugh" Before he finishes his sentence he gets up out of the chair and heads out the door. "I forgot, I gave him a week to train. He'll be upset if I don't show up." Taking his time to get to the training grounds he nods his head to the citizens of Konoha.  
"Fifteen...nineteen...twenty-two...twenty-seven..." Swinging his arms with perfect timing and speed, his movements are swift and precious. Sakami makes his fighting style beautiful, almost artistic. The Third stands outside the entrance of the training grounds anticipating how much progress his student has made over the week. "Shouldn't be too hard to find him now should it."  
"Forty-three...forty-eight...fifty-five..." His movements, harder to follow, his chakra pouring out more and more. " Observing from afar, the Third sees dozens of training dummies in a cluster and his student in the dead center of them all. He gazes at his student's movements and is awestruck by what is shown before him.  
"He managed to improve that much in such a short amount of time? Remarkable..."  
"Eighty-three...ninety-one...one-hundred..." The last target falls and so does Sakami from exhaustion. He lies on the ground, sweat dripping off the ends of his hair, every muscle aching, and trying to catch his breath. As he lies there on the ground the Third walks over and stands right behind him.  
"It seems I may have underestimated you. You're progressing at a much faster rate than the other genin."  
"Yeah I suppose...where are you getting at old man?"  
"Get up. Let's go for a walk."  
"Are you serious right now? I kind of feel like passing out. Just tell me now."  
"Oh? A real shinobi goes to the ends of the earth to get the information they desire. So you either get up or I'll leave you here."  
"_Damn you old man. _Fine, fine I'm getting up." He uses every bit of energy he has left to push himself off the ground and up onto his legs. Stumbling a little bit he follows the Third as they head towards town.  
"Why didn't you ask me about the chuunin exam? You do know it started four days ago right?"  
"Ehh...yeah I know. I just didn't really want to do it this year to be honest with you. Besides I don't need someone to tell me what level I'm at when it comes to being a shinobi, I can measure my own ability."  
"I see...you do know though that if you don't take it and become a chuunin you won't be allowed to go on certain missions, join ANBU, or even be nominated for Hokage right?"  
"Eh yeah. That thought did cross my mind a few times...but then again I don't plan on staying in the Leaf Village that long anyways. I wanna know what's behind these walls, you know? I wanna explore the whole world, and be able to say yeah I've been there, I've seen that."  
"You are unique, I'll give you that. All I hear from the academy students and especially Uzumaki Naruto is how they want to be Hokage someday. Since you didn't sign up for the chuunin exam...in a few days the tournament will be held and I have to observe with the Kazekage as well so I was thinking about giving you an independent mission."  
"An independent mission? What do I have to do?"  
"Nothing too serious. You'd just have to deliver a scroll to the Hidden Rain Village. Personally I believe that you would pass the chuunin exam with flying colors so I'm basing my judgment off of that."  
"Delivering a scroll? Hmm...doesn't sound too exciting to be honest old man."  
"I'll admit that it isn't the most exciting mission I've could've given you but you do earn more credit completing missions solo." With his hands behind his head he looks up into the sky and ponders for a few seconds about the thought.  
"I guess I can do it..I wasn't planning on attending the tournament anyways so this gives me something to do I suppose.  
"Very well. You have a week to pack up and prepare. On the day of the tournament meet me in my office at seven sharp, understood?"  
"Sir, yes sir." They both chuckle after the smart remark and continue to walk through town.

The week passes by and everything seems as if it was only yesterday. Sakami's alarm buzzes in his ear but soon comes to an end as he throws it against the floor. He stumbles to his feet and opens his blinds to find hundreds of people passing by his house, heading towards the stadium. He turns on the shower and hops in, allowing the hot water to relax all his muscles and wake him up. Soon after he steps out, shakes his head to get all the water out of his hair, then glances at his clock seeing how he only has thirteen minutes left to meet up with the Hokage. He hurries and puts on his clothes while water still drips off his body then grabs his bag and heads out the door. While making his way to the administration building he gets yelled at as he carelessly bumps into a few people. With three minutes to spare he finally arrives at the Hokage's office. "You're here...and on time, congratulations." The Third says as he turns around in his chair with a scroll in his hand. Sakami walks toward the Third and grabs the scroll that is handed to him. "Here you go, you only have three days to give the village's leader the scroll and return back to Konoha so don't poke around mkay?  
"Yeah yeah understood old man." Sakami puts the scroll inside his backpack and heads out to Konoha's C gate. He turns his head around and takes one last look at his village then takes his first step into a whole other world.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

Not even half way into his mission, Sakami is already mesmerized by everything that surrounds him. He never in his life felt so free before; he never knew that behind Konoha's walls was the endless view of trees and streams, mountains which seem impossible to reach, everything that gave him an inner peace. The night sky came fast and walking for countless hours has diminished all of his energy. Before the darkness could cover everything around him Sakami gathers a bunch of dry pieces of wood and dead leaves then starts a fire with a lighter he brought along. Laying on his side with his pack back as a pillow the howling of the wind and chirping of crickets become his lullaby.

Dawn breaks and Sakami realizes that he doesn't exactly have all the time in the world to be lying down. He puts out the fire and gathers all of his things as he follows the directions the Third left him on a note which is attached to the scroll. An half an hour passes and he finally reaches his destination but instead of a village he was expecting he ends up on a cliff in the middle of nowhere. "I was wondering how long it would take for the old man to finally send you." Sakami turns his head where the voice is coming from and sees a man sitting on a tree limb. "Yo."  
"Wait...what did you say?" The stranger jumps from the tree limb and lands only a few feet away from Sakami.  
"Sorry. Maybe you didn't hear me from up there. I said it's about time you have gotten my scroll." Sakami takes a good look at the man; he's wearing a black robe with red clouds on it and has an orange mask on.  
"Your scroll?"  
"Yes, my scroll. Although it seems you have no intention of believing me do you?"  
"No...I--I'm confused. I was given orders from the..."  
"The Third Hokage to give this scroll to the leader of the River Village, correct?"  
"...Yeah. How did you know?"  
"I already told you, it's my scroll. Open it and I will prove it to you." Sakami opens the scroll and to his surprise there's nothing on the scroll but a symbol at the top of it. "There was never anything on the scroll except that symbol you see."  
"Then why did the Third send me on this mission?"  
"It is because that symbol, that was placed on the top of that scroll, puts a person under my genjutsu. I made the Hokage, himself, believe that he was sending you on a mission for peace but actually it was to get you to meet me."  
"Wait now I'm really lost. What could you possibly want with me?"  
"Have you ever hear of the Aoiki Clan?"  
"Hmm nope, can't say I have."  
"Ugh, what do they teach you kids today. Well, they were an ancient clan that was said to die off hundreds of years of ago but there were rumors going around that there were a few survivors left. Twelve years ago I was so close to finding a group of them but someone got to them before me and sadly killed them off. Just as I was about to give up hope, I noticed one survivors fleeing on a horse. I followed him to a village, Konoha, where he dropped a child off, that child was you Sakami." Sakami stands perfectly still, paralyzed from the shocking news.  
"Wait, how come I was never told about any of this? Someone had to say something to me sooner or later right?"  
"No...because only a few know about the Massacre: Myself and a few other survivors. The one who killed off everyone in your clan made sure that there wasn't a trail or any evidence that the Aoiki Clan was still around."  
"Who killed them all?"  
"Oh? Plotting revenge maybe?"  
"That's none of your business. You wasted my time bringing me out here, the least you can do is give me a name."  
"Watch your tongue boy, speak to me like that again and I will rip it right out of your mouth. I did not drag you out here for nothing, on the contrary; I want to make a deal with you."  
"What kind of deal?"  
"Leave everything behind you: your friends, your mentors, all of your memories and join Akatsuki. I will train you to the point where you can grasp your revenge and I will grant your one desire, freedom to do whatever you please."  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold up. Why do you want me to join Akatsuki, I'm only thirteen years old."  
"Yes, only thirteen and with great potential. It is a shame that you did not realize that you are a descendent of one of the most gifted clans. You could have used your abilities to their fullest. I am getting ahead of myself though. Do you accept my offer?"  
"I'm sorry but no. I'm perfectly content with my life."  
"Oh what a shame." The stranger walks towards Sakami and put his hand on top his head. "You have a monster growing inside, something every shinobi would kill for, all you have to do is let it out of its cage. I am getting ahead of myself though. I think it is best if you returned back to your village for now." The two lock eyes and from Sakami's perspective the whole world around is spinning in every direction. In the matter of seconds the two of them end up in a different location.  
"What the hell? Where are we?"  
"We are just outside Konoha's borders."  
"But...how is that possible? It took me almost a day and a half to get to the checkpoint."  
"No more questions for now but just remember my offer still stands.  
"Uhm okay...I'll keep that in mind...wait I never did get your name."  
"My name is unimportant but you can call me Tobi. You better hurry up now...I see smoke coming from the village." Sakami turns his back on Tobi and looks in the direction Konoha is and he's sees smoke. Not hesitating he sprints towards Konoha without saying a word to Tobi. "See you real soon Sakami."

Sakami's worst nightmare is right in front of him, The Hidden Leaf Village is in rubble; fire consuming everything, smoke stretches as far as the eye could see, screams of pain coming from every direction. The Hidden Leaf Village was under attack, betrayed by the Sand Village and overrun with Sound Ninja which were led by Orochimaru. Two days after the attack the people of Konoha attended the funeral of their leader, the Third Hokage; everyone was there except for one. Sakami sits on his bed, curled into a ball, stunned from what has happened since his departure. "Everyone is at the funeral but you...why is that?" He quickly turns his head to see Tobi sitting on his windowsill.  
"Go away." His head presses tightly against his knees as he holds himself.  
"He must have meant a lot to you, huh?" Tobi gets no answer, just a simple glance from Sakami. "Feelings, emotions, bonds...probably it is every man's weakness in this shinobi world. That's why you have to cut them off." Tobi yet again waits for a response but receives nothing. "Sakami come with me and you will not have feel like this anymore but if you decide not to cut off your emotions completely I will make you strong enough to protect the ones you love."  
"What do you get out of all this?"  
"I just get your assistance in reaching my goal."  
"And what is this goal exactly?"  
"That...we'll save for another time, after you gain my trust." Tobi extends his arm, indicating that Sakami should come with him. The boy gets to his feet and takes Tobi's hand. "Now let's get out of here, shall we?"

Just as before Tobi uses his strange teleportation jutsu to transport the both of them but unlike before they wind up in what seems another dimension. "What the hell...what is this place?" Sakami looks around and sees thousands of giant blocks floating around one another which seemed to stretch forever.  
"Welcome to your new, temporary home Sakami." Sakami looks up to see Tobi standing on one of the blocks looking down at him.  
"Where are we exactly?" Tobi taps on the front of his mask giving him a hint.  
"Somewhere, where no one will be able to reach us. I hope you are comfortable with it because this is where you will be spending the next three years of your life."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

Three years have passed since Konoha was under attack by the Sand and Sound village and after that horrific incident three shinobis lives were forever changed. Uchiha Sasuke choose the path of vengeance and trained under Orochimaru so that one day he will be able to obtain his life's goal; to kill his older brother. Aoiki Sakami, tired of being held down in Konoha and fed up with human emotions, choose the path of ultimate freedom by following in Tobi's footsteps. Uzumaki Naruto, buried in his own guilt of not being able to stop his friends from abandoning him and his village, went off with Jiraiya, one of the three legendary sanin, to become strong enough to bring his lost comrades back.

In Tobi's dimension everything is either torn apart or completely obliterated. The two of them stand only a few meters apart, completely drained from training. "Well, as much as you amused me for the past three years...it looks like our time together is up." Tobi tells him as he creates a bright, glowing tear in the air itself. "Come on, let's get out of here." Sakami follows as they both leave the dark mind of Tobi's and enter the real world again.

"It's been so long...that I forgot what fresh air really smells like. I feel lighter out here as well."  
"Well that is what happens when you train somewhere where everything is an illusion." They both stretch and afterwards Sakami wonders around, admiring his surroundings. "Congratulations boy, you are now an official member of Akatsuki. Do you remember what my terms are?" With an agitated look over the shoulder Sakami turns around and walks up to Tobi.  
"Please refresh my memory, it's all a blur to me."

"Ignorance will not get you anywhere but it went something like this. I train you until you get to the point where you can fend for yourself and do whatever you please without worrying about anything and you join Akatsuki and do a few simple things for me."

"Alright...so is there anything on the to-do list at the moment?"

"No, for right now just enjoy your freedom, you deserve it."

"Well, if that's it then I'll get going." Before he could get too far Tobi stops him to give him some valuable information. "Head towards the East, in that direction you will hopefully find a small village. There you will find a survivor who knows of your clan's murderer."  
"What!" Sakami turns to face Tobi but he is nowhere to found.

The boy takes his sensei's advice and heads east and instead of taking the trail he walks through the forest to reminisce on what he has missed for the last three years. As pushes bushes and branches aside he catches a whiff of what seems to be smoke. His curiosity takes over so he jumps from branch to branch till he gets to the top of an old oak tree to see that there is a huge fire not too far from his location. He races towards the huge flame, jumping from tree limb to tree limb at an incredibly fast pace. It seems that Tobi's gravity training has increase his agility and speed by almost four folds.

In the matter of minutes he finally reaches the fire and to his surprise it's a building, two stories high, which is falling apart as the flames consumes it's very frame. He turns away from the building and continues on, East, but then notices a trail of blood lying on the path that leads to the building's front door. "_Ugh...I know I'm going to regret this._" He runs toward the building and kicks the front door down and checks to see if there are any survivors trapped. "Hellooo! Hellooo!" His screams fail as he gets no response back so he heads up the stairs to check the second floor. Hurrying up the steps the smoke fills his lungs making every move harder and harder to make. He turns the corner and at his feet is a man lying lifeless and impaled on his back were several shurikens. Stepping over the dead man he checks the rest of the room and still finds no survivors. He then slides the fusuma open to find a girl lying down wrapped in blankets. Kneeling to the floor he checks her pulse, "she's still alive." He picks her up and creates an opening in the wall by using his chakra blades. Leaping out of the burning building he lands a few dozen meters away from the death trap which almost took this girl's life.

With the girl on his arms he takes her to a safe location where he lays her on the ground as he looks for water. He pulls a few leaves off a tree and uses them as bowls as he takes some water from a nearby stream. Tilting the girl's head forward he pours the water in her mouth and gently massages her throat so she doesn't choke on it. He puts her head down gently and feels her forehead, "She's burning up pretty bad. If I leave her here, she'll most likely die." Sakami sighs and realizes that he's going to have take care of the girl till she recovers.

After two nights of being tended to she starts to open her eyes to finds herself next to a fire and wrapped in blankets. "Wha-- where am I?"

"So you finally woken up, have you?" Sakami sitting behind her gives her hand waving motion. "Yo." She leans up and pulls the blanket off of her looking at her surroundings. She parts her short, black hair to the side while her pale skin reflected the moon's light.

"Uhm...hi. Where exactly am I and How did I get here?"  
"You're safe don't worry. I was heading East and I happened to stumble across a building you were staying at. Unfortunately it was ablaze so I decided to check it out for any survivors and I found you. You're lucky I found you when I did otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. So what happened? I found a man murdered, care to explain?"

"Oh my god...well, I got sick from traveling in the rain the past week and I needed a place to rest. I past the building and asked the owner if he had any spare rooms and he did so he took me in. The next day though bandits came and raided through the building and lit it on fire, then my knight in shining armor came to rescue me haha."

"Ha...I'm no knight in shining armor but you're welcome." He gets up and pokes the fire to make it go on a little longer then throws an extra piece of wood in it that he must have gotten while taking care of the girl.  
"So what's your name kid?"  
"Kid? Uhm you don't look that much older you know."

"Oh? Well for your information I'm nine-teen and by looking at ya...you seem to be six-teen?"

"Very good...for a guess, and to answer your question, I'm Aoiki Sakami and you are..."  
"Kutso Mari!"

"Eh--well nice to meet you Mari."

"So...Sakami, tell me about yourself."

"Well, what do you wanna know?"  
"For one, what brings you the whole way out here?" Taking a deep breath, Sakami sighs then gives her an answer.

"I'm looking for someone, someone who might know about the Aoiki Clan."

"Aoiki...why does that sound so familiar. Maybe grandma talked about them once or twice."

"Your grandmother might know of them?"

"Well yeah of course, she's old as dirt and she's a historian so she might know about them. I can take you to see her if you want."

"That'd be great thank you so much." She makes a fist and covers her mouth then pretends to cough.

"Hmpf hmm..."  
"Something wrong?"

"Oh nothing...it's just kind of rude that you didn't even ask me anything." Sakami takes another sigh and looks at her.  
"So Mari please do tell me about yourself. Why does a pretty girl like you get trapped in burning buildings?"

"I thought you'd never ask. This may come as a surprise to you but I'm a cartographer."  
"A cartographer?"

"...You're kidding me right? A cartographer is someone who travels the world and makes maps."

"Ah so you're somewhat of an adventurer you could say?"  
"I guess that's one way of putting it, so yeah I guess I am."

"I'll be honest with you, you're accomplishing my dream, well the adventuring part that is?"  
"Oh? do tell." She gets up from where she was sitting and lays on her belly right beside him.

"Well one day I'm hoping of exploring the whole world and seeing everything there is to see, it's been a dream of mine."  
"Well what do you know...we have something in common kid haha."

"Ugh...I'm not a kid."

The two of them talk for a few more hours then finally get some sleep before heading out. The sun comes out from behind the trees and shines in Mari's eyes waking her from her sleep. She takes her covers off and rolls them up then takes the rest of the water they saved from last night and puts out the fire. The sound of footsteps come from behind her so she turns around to see Sakami. "Haha wow...uhm nice robe. You seem to be styling today haha."  
"Laugh it up. Only a select few wear this and you're lucky that you've only seen it on me."  
"Oh? Why's that?" He walks past her and whispers lightly in her ear.

"Because they'd kill you." As he walks pass her she stands there for a few seconds and blinks.  
"Uhm...that's a joke right Sakami? They wouldn't really kill me, would they?" He chuckles to himself as she follows right behind him.

Mari leads Sakami on a trail, heading East, for no more than an hour and half until they finally reach a small village where everything relied off its farmland. "This is it Sakami, we're finally here!" Mari picks up her pace and tells him to hurry up as she approaches one of the beaten up shacks. "Nana, I'm home!" The two of them walk into the shack to find Mari's grandmother washing dishes.

"Mari-chan?" The old lady shakes her hands to get all the water and suds off her weak hands. Turning around to greet her granddaughter she gives he a hug then glances at Sakami. "It's so good to see you again my dear and who is this strapping, young man?"

"Bahaha! Who Nana? I don't see any for miles?" Mari laughs at her own joke and messes up Sakami's hair. He knocks her hand away from his head and fixes his hair.

"Aoiki Sakami ma'am."

"Did you say...Aoiki?

"Yes, your granddaughter told me that you are a historian and might have some information on them." She takes a seat and offers them a one as well.

"Well that depends what do you want to know about them?"

"I was told that six-teen years ago there was a small group of survivors that were murdered. Know anything about that?" Her eyes stare right into his with great curiosity.

"Yes...I do, but how do you know about that?"

"A first hand source you can say and...of course I am apparently a survivor of the massacre."

"You're no older than Mari...during that time you were just a child. How'd you survive that night?"

"I was told that my father saved my life by giving me to Hidden Leaf Village. Now I want to know who is responsible for wiping out my people."

"Ah yes, well I do recall that very night. You see an old friend of mine, who passed away a few years ago, was out harvesting berries and picking herbs way beyond our village's borders. While doing so she saw smoke and fire from a distance so she decided to check it out to see if anyone was in danger. When she got there she saw dozens of men hacking away at defenseless people and huts burning to the ground. She told me that one man stuck out from all the rest though. He was sheathed in a blood stained robe and he seemed to be controlling his men with some kind of jutsu, almost like a puppet master. Before she could be spotted she ran for her life and told me everything the next day."

"Oh my god...that's horrible." Mari whispers under her breath as her mouth hides behind her hands.

"I see...Do you have any hints of where this guy be at?" Sakami asks the old woman as he keeps his rage under control.

"Well like the historian I am I did do some research and it seems that this isn't the first time an incident like this has happened. There seems to be several other recordings where smaller and weaker villages were under attack in the same manner." The old lay picks herself out of her chair and pulls a map off of her bookshelf. Unrolling it across the table she marks several locations on the map. "These locations that I marked are where villages use to be." The markings on the map formed a circle and she then points to the middle of the circle.

"So I'm guessing that whoever this guy is he must be around here, correct?"

"Mhmm." The old woman nods her head and Sakami picks up the map heads out the door but Mari stops him.  
"Where do you think you're going?"

"Take a guess."

"If you're planning on finding this guy by yourself you're sadly mistaken."  
"Oh?"  
"I'm coming with you. I have to find some way to repay you for saving my life, right?" He just smirks and without turning around, walks right out of the shack. Mari picks a few necessities; two bottled waters, a loaf and a half of bread, a pan, and puts it in her back pack. Once she's set she gives her grandmother a hug and heads out right behind Sakami.


End file.
